


I'm Out of Gas, and You Need a Jacket

by Fighting_for_Creativity, honestmischief, Purple_ducky00



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Camping, Cows, M/M, Road Trips, my boys are in love, out of gas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fighting_for_Creativity/pseuds/Fighting_for_Creativity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestmischief/pseuds/honestmischief, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Tony and Rhodey must camp out in a field after they run out of gas on a road trip. They get an unexpected visitor in the morning.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15
Collections: Ironhusbands Bingo 2020





	I'm Out of Gas, and You Need a Jacket

**Author's Note:**

> Had a fun time writing with these fun writers! We hope you enjoy!
> 
> Bingo information is at the end!

“I told you we should’ve gotten gas at that station!” Rhodey comments as the car sputters to a stop.

Throwing up his hands, Tony groans at his husband. “Yeah, yeah, you told me. Please forgive me that my brain didn’t compute that there wouldn’t be a gas station for at least a hundred miles. There’s a reason why these states are called ‘fly-over-states.’” 

“Don’t diss Nebraska. They have a lot of farms that grow much of the food we eat every day.” 

“Aaand they don’t have cell service.” Tony pokes at his phone. “How out of touch can these people be that Stark Industries satellites can’t even pick up cell service? I have the best in the world! JARVIS, J, can you hear me? JARVIS?” When no answer comes, Tony sets his phone down calmly. Rhodey can tell that he is doing his best to not freak out. “What should we do, Rhodey?”

“We’re going to have to move the car off the road and camp out tonight. Good thing it’s in the summer, or we’d be freezing.”

Tony glares at him. “Oh yeah, good thing.” Then he mutters. “Shoulda flew home. Planes never run out of gas over Nebraska.”

“Hey, look at me.” Rhodey reaches over and tips Tony’s face towards him. “Listen, I’m sorry I pushed for this road trip. I know you’d prefer to fly, and it’s my bad that we’re stuck here right now. But we’re going to have to make due with what we have. Let’s move the car and take a look around. It’s going to get really dark, really fast.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Tony nods. “Let’s move the car.” He turns the ignition again, just to see if the car will start. It does, and he quickly shifts it into neutral before it quickly shuts off again. Together, they push the car over to the side of the road. “Ok,” Tony says nervously. “Let’s look around. All I see is fields. Who the hell is going to find us in all these fields?”

“Tony, we’re going to be fine. If all else falls, we can probably make a transistor radio with whatever parts we can find in the back.” Rhodey tries to assure his husband. “What we need to do is find out where we’re going to sleep. I would say the car, but we don’t have much room to sleep in there. I suggest pulling out all the floor mats and laying them out in the grass. We can use our jackets and blankets and body heat to keep us warm. What do you think?”

“I have no idea, Rhodey!” Tony’s voice gets shakier. “I have no idea because I didn’t…” He inhales deeply. “Wait. I’m a genius. I can improvise, right? I figured out how to make an arc reactor in an Afghan cave. Why can’t I frickin figure out how to camp in a field?” He snorts.    
  
  
“That’s my husband.”

Tony digs into the trunk of the car and pulls out some blankets and clothing. Tilting his head, he quickly calculates something. “If I pull this out of my bag and stand it up, I can make a frame for a tent, bending this and this. We can throw the big blanket on the top and use our sweatshirts for heat…” He quickly details out a plan. Rhodey just sits back and watches, nodding. 

“And we can use each other’s body heat,” Tony adds with a wink. 

Rhodey rolls his eyes. “You’re not wrong.”

Both of them get to work. They set up the frame of their makeshift tent together. Tony sets up the outside of it with blankets while Rhodey makes up their “bed” inside. The sun is just about to disappear into the horizon, and Tony is glad that they finished while they still had some daylight to see. They don’t want to waste their phone batteries to use flashlights, even though they don’t have cell signal to make any calls. 

“It may not be the most comfortable, but I think we figured it out,” Tony says.

Rhodey pulls Tony close to him, guiding him by his upper arms. Every time Tony looks into Rhodey’s eyes, his heart flutters. He loves being the center of his husband’s gaze. “I think it’s quite romantic. A night under the stars with my husband,” Rhodey says in a soft tone. 

Tony lets out a content sigh “Yeah.”

Tony would admit that he is not an outdoors kind of guy. He grew up in a mansion in New York City. Kids living in the city don’t have much of an opportunity to go outside. Besides, Tony practically lives in his workshop. There wasn’t enough time for him to do things outside, such as going for hikes or relaxing at the beach. But looking up at the stars as they began appearing in the sky, he doesn’t feel worried. They are absolutely beautiful, and Tony feels himself calming down. 

Tony considers the possibility that it isn’t the stars in the sky that made him feel at peace, but that it is Rhodey’s presence instead. There is a reason why Rhodey is the love of Tony’s life. When Rhodey is around, Tony feels warm and protected in a way he never had been before. He feels cherished, like he is important for something other than his intellect. Most important, he feels loved. 

So sleeping in a DYI tent isn’t going to be a problem. Not when he is with Rhodey. 

“Are you ready to check out our home for the night?” Tony asks. 

“You bet,” Rhodey replies with a goofy grin. 

Tony grabs his husband’s hand, leading him into their tent. It’s kind of small, but Tony is okay with it. He’s with Rhodey. He loves being close to him, feeling his arms wrapped around him.

“I’ve never slept in a tent before,” Tony says once they are settled. 

Rhodey raises an eyebrow. “Seriously? Never?” 

“Howard was never a fan of camping,” Tony replies with a shrug. 

“Can’t say that I’m surprised. My sister and I used to camp in our backyard as kids. We told each other ghost stories in the middle of the night, and had nothing but our flashlights to keep us from getting scared,” Rhodey told him. 

Sometimes, Tony wished that he had a normal childhood. Hearing stories from Rhodey’s past made Tony long for things he was never able to experience. 

Rhodey knows that expression on his husband's face but decides not to comment on it for now. The military man is acutely aware of how taxing the situation has already been on his husband and Rhodey just wished to keep Tony calm and relaxed, happy and safe. Rhodey just know how to do that and so he keeps telling Tony all those little stories of himself and his sister getting in trouble or going on ‘adventure’ when the backyard became too boring to stay.

  
  
  


The night itself is quiet and calm, laying over the two men like in a blanket of tranquility. Rhodey’s voice is one of the few things to be heard and soon enough he finds himself holding a sleeping genius. Staring at the blurry silhouette of his heart, Rhodey can feel sleep pulling him under as well. With a soft smile on his lips, a gentle yet strong hold on his lover, Rhodey nuzzles Tony before he succumbs to morpheus call.

Rhodey feels something hot and moist fanning over his face and he tries to swat it away, with mixed results. When a hot, too big and wet tongue is added to the moisture, Rhodey’s eyes jump open and he bolts upright. The military man needs about three seconds to realize who the  perpetrator is. Baffled, Rhodey stares at big dark eyes.

“Moo” The sound is accompanied by another lick. That gets Rhodey into moving away, upsetting his husband even more. Which ultimately wakes the genius. 

“Ugh… Rhodey…. what-”

Rhodey isn’t sure he can answer whatever Tony wants to ask because he too has no idea how the fuck a cow tromped directly up to them without either of them noticing before Rhodey got licked. Usually the soldier is way more aware of his surroundings than that.

“Moo!” 

Rhodey stares at the cow, then at his husband, Tony staring right back until Rhodey can see that the under caffeinated brain comes to the same realization as he. “There is a fucking cow in our camp.”

“Seems so, genius.”

They need another moment before they get to their feet, not wanting to be trampled by the very docile and apparently affectionate cow. Because the cow tries to lick Rhodey again, after nudging him in the side. And Tony the traitor snickers like a five year old at Rhodey’s distrubed face.

“Looks like she thinks you’re really a honeybear~”

“Tony-”

But Rhodey can’t be stern and mad at him while Tony still looks so soft and sleep ruffled, no masks in place and the weight of his responsibilities not yet settled on his shoulders again. Tony smiles so gently, so carefree, Rhodey aches for him to always smile like that. So the only thing the military man can do is keeping the cow at arm length and returning the smile of his husband.

A few seconds tick by before Tony’s eyes widen and Rhodey just knows that the man has some kind of mad idea. “Where there is a cow, there is a farmer! Or rancher or whatever. Meaning we could ride the cow back to the ranch and ask for a lift to a gas station!”

“No!”

“But Honey-”

“Tony no. We will not ride a cow-”

“Rhodey, love of my life, sun of my days and moon of my nights-”

“Nope. We will walk with this cow, if the cow is going to cooperate and hopefully a farmer is searching for her by the end and we can do the second half of your plan.” 

Tony, expectantly, is pouting. Rhodey smiles gently and draws Tony into a soft embrace. He tilts his head just right, sees the fluttering of Tony’s eyelids and both lean in for a gentle kiss.

“Moo!” The cow interrupts and head butts them from the side, tumbling them over and making both men land on their asses. They look at each other and then at the cow and back again, bursting into high and carefree laughter. Later as they pack their more important belongings and secure the car, Rhodey thinks, “Hopefully we will find the farm. But…” and his gaze strays towards his husband, “it’s been a long while since I’ve seen him so happy.”

After they packed everything, Tony turns to Rhodey before grabbing his hand and whispers, “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to drive instead of flying…”

And instead of teasing him, Rhodey simply squeezes Tony’s hand softly and starts walking.

_ ~fin. _

**Author's Note:**

> Title: I’m Out of Gas, and You Need a Jacket  
> Creators: J_Gun_l, honestmischief, Ducky  
> Rating: Teen  
> Warnings: n/a  
> Pair: Ironhusbands  
> Squares Filled: O1 - Out of Gas - J_Gun_l, O1 - Camping - Ducky, O3 - Cows - Honestmischief  
> Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926432  
> Summary: Tony and Rhodey must camp out in a field after they run out of gas on a road trip. They get an unexpected visitor in the morning.  
> Word Count: 1816 words


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